Wouldbe Gods
by Modus Operandi of a Mastermind
Summary: Loki finds himself in Hueco Mundo after his death. Both Aizen and Szayel have plans for their guest. But this is Loki and things never end up as expected. Sunshine fic dedicated to all my hurting Loki stans. You are safe here, I promise.


A/N: This was meant to be practice writing an unfamiliar character (Loki) by playing him against characters I used to write very well. I wrote most of it last year after watching Ragnarok, not knowing that I prEDICTED THE METHOD OF LOKI'S DEATH NO I'M NOT OKAY. After watching IW I decided that I would turn the whole thing on its head. There's a happy ending. I'm spoiling that now because this fic is dedicated to all my hurting Loki stans out there on Twitter especially and especially to my fellow members of Tom & Loki's Mini Defense Squad gc. I don't think many of you will find this but if you do, know that I love you more than words can express.

Loki has a plan. He's alive. Keep the faith. We will see him again. In the meantime, relax and enjoy the sunshine ending to this fic.

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"As you can surmise, there is no Valhalla," said the pink-haired man with golden eyes.

The words were spoken slowly, Loki suspected, for the benefit of his reeling mind.

 _Not for you_. _But you already knew that, didn't you?_

It had all come crashing down on him in the end. All his carefully laid plans leading to nothing. Thanos crushing his windpipe-but Loki wasn't going to think on that just now.

"And Thor?" His voice cracked over his brother's name. He licked his dry lips and willed his hands to stop shaking. He had done it all for Thor, weighed the odds and balanced things in his brother's favor. For once.

A cruel bark of laughter in response.

"How very droll of you to ask." Loki was too far gone to bristle at the words.

The being sauntered closer, radiating a power unlike any Loki experienced before. He felt his seidr swell up in response but it was paltry in comparison to the crushing pressure this entity was exerting on him.

It felt like being near Thanos all over again, except somehow Loki knew this thing was infinitely stronger.

"I've been observing you for a long time, Loki." The way his name rolled off the being's tongue was like a promise. "And it is my hypothesis that…"

His tongue was in knots and briefly Loki wondered if it was fear or this unnerving presence that silenced him. He resented it all the same.

"You will make a nice addition." To what, the being didn't say, but it was made apparent that it wasn't good by the appreciative smirk that curved up toward cruel golden eyes.

"What?" Loki would find reasons for his inelegance later. For now, he simply wanted answers.

"My, my, and here I'm used to you being _so_ much more verbose. Though I suppose death does have that effect. Such a shame." Again came the cruel laughter, but Loki was quickly finding understanding in the words. His spine straightened as he gathered his wits about him like a cloak.

"Your generosity does not go unnoticed," Loki said, and it was a test. "I do hope you'll forgive my lack of sufficient awareness about the situation."

The being clapped his hands together. There was a hungry look in his eyes that Loki didn't like. "Marvellous." Loki understood this as the recognition it was even before he was offered a name. "I am Szayel Aporro Granz, the Octava Espada."

Szayel spread his arms wide before offering a dramatic bow.

Loki recognized grandstanding when he saw it. He wasn't sure if it was meant to mock him or if this _Szayel_ enjoyed similar proclivities. He rolled this and the unfamiliar title around in his mind a moment before responding.

"Please enlighten me, Octava Espada, as to what happens next. _If it's not too much trouble, that is_." Loki couldn't help the last. He'd seldom ever been able to hold his tongue with his anger sufficiently aroused.

Szayel made a pleased noise in his throat, showing no care for Loki's cheek. It took Loki aback for a second, but then Szayel did seem something of a narcissist. "Octava will do. I am a busy man, as you'll soon note."

"Then, I thank you for your valuable time, Octava," Loki replied without hesitation. He molded his body language to something slightly more deferential.

More pleased sounds followed. "Indeed. Now, if you'll follow me."

Loki doubted he had a choice. He made his feet move and as he did the fog surrounding his senses peeled away and he found himself in a vast nighttime desert.

"Ah, yes," Szayel said, as if somehow aware of this as well. "You should know that if you let go again, _he_ will not be as kind as Thanos was when he caught you."

Loki did not let his steps falter so soon after his previous weakness. It would have been unforgivable.

"Who, may I ask?"

"Aizen-sama, of course."

Loki caught sight of the imposing palace the moment his true captor's name fell from Szayel's lips.

"And what, pray tell, does your master want with me?"

Szayel's steps faltered then, although Loki wasn't convinced this was genuine. Mere moments in this one's company and he already felt their similarities and knew it would be twice as hard to manipulate him.

"Our master," Szayel said, simply, instead of answering the question.

Loki noticed Szayel was smiling again and wondered at what kind of game the man played. He didn't seem willing to give it up so easily, but Loki wouldn't be Loki if he didn't at least _try_.

"Our master, then. What can you tell me of this creature?"

Szayel did chuckle at that. It was sudden enough to seem spontaneous but still Loki suspected…

"A fine word, but one you'd do well to avoid in his presence."

"Everywhere, you mean."

"I'm surprised you noticed." Szayel's tone was pleased and from that Loki inferred a lot.

"Most wouldn't?"

"Most wouldn't have the audacity to voice it."

"I see."

"You know, I actually think you do." Szayel was already sauntering away. Yes, sauntering. "It's quite refreshing. Perhaps I'll make you one of my Fraccion."

"An honor, I'm sure," Loki said, meaning the opposite. Szayel flipped his vibrant pink hair and gazed at Loki as if he knew. Loki raised both of his eyebrows innocently in return.

They were drawing ever closer to the palace and Loki was truly beginning to appreciate its size. It was bigger even than the one on Asgard.

"You'll notice this is _not_ Asgard, nor Jotunheim," Szayel said, as if sensing Loki's thoughts and, really, Loki was going to be very careful what plans he made in The Octava's presence.

"You'll also note that this is not Sakaar, and you will certainly not be stealing _any_ of my technology, codes, or specimens."

"And where, pray tell, are we?" Loki refused to keep his voice anything other than steady despite his increasing awareness of Szayel's knowledge of his history and capabilities.

"Hueco Mundo." As if that explained anything. Szayel caught Loki's eye and gave an elegant little shrug. "Your afterlife. Fortunate for me that you perished near Midgard, as you call it. Fortunate for _you_ that you aren't human."

The man smiled and it was all teeth. Loki tensed, feeling trapped by the gaze of a predator. Then Szayel's lips came together for another cruel smirk that said he knew exactly the effect he had on Loki.

"Fortunate…" Loki trailed off, leaving a breadcrumb trail for Szayel to hopefully follow. So what if this being understood that Loki was manipulative? Loki was already coming to see that Szayel was arrogant almost to a fault and that he enjoyed condescending to Loki. He'd dealt with people like this his whole life albeit not usually this intelligent.

Again, Loki could see the depth of awareness in those cruel eyes. "You were spared what one might call your _adolescence_ here."

Loki did not like the sound of that.

Szayel put a finger to his lips and tapped them with it. "It makes you a very interesting and rare specimen."

"Qualities I tend to cultivate," Loki said, despite the lead weight settling in his stomach.

Szayel gave a little laugh that further jarred him. "I've decided. I _will_ take you. And," he held up a finger for Loki's silence, "I trust that you will give Aizen-sama no cause to end your life before I am finished studying it."

He grabbed Loki's arm quick enough that Loki didn't see it coming and suddenly they were at a massive pair of white doors, presumably inside the palace. Loki jumped back several feet and readied his daggers, but Szayel only held his hands out with his palms up.

"Sonido," he said, simply. Loki inferred what that meant and fought to still his thundering heart. He brushed his hair out of his face and released his daggers back to their interdimensional pockets. Thank the Norns that still worked for him.

"Study me? Isn't that what you've been doing all along?" Loki was panting a little bit which ruined some of the stalwart effect he was going for.

"Another astute observation," Szayel said, as the doors swung open.

The man's bearing changed instantly. All the cocky sureness gone, replaced by the demeanor of a fawning sycophant. Loki's gaze swung from him to the massive room with its equally gargantuan throne. Loki was unable to make out the features of the man seated on it, but noted the power thrumming like a tide through the room. This dwarfed anything he had experienced so far. Thanos seemed like a petty mortal in comparison.

One of the scars on Loki's side twinged and he fought the urge to go down on both knees as horrible memories from his time with Thanos tried to pull him under.

Instead, Loki took one step forward and then another. The pressure built around him, seeming to caress his body before it abruptly abated. Loki stumbled, breathing heavily. Behind him, he could hear Szayel cough, once. Loki didn't turn around to see his expression but rather concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other.

The man on the throne became clearer with every step. His eyes were a warm brown and radiated kindness.

Loki wasn't fooled.

"To what do I owe this honor, Aizen-sama?" Loki asked, when he got close enough. He took his cue to be more deferential than he would under normal circumstances from Szayel, who knelt one step behind him.

"Loki of Asgard...or is it Jotunheim?" The warmth of the man's smile lit his whole face up. "Welcome to Las Noches."

The barb hit its intended mark but Loki refused to show it. Aizen's smile stretched along with Loki's budding hatred for the man.

"I thank you for your most gracious welcome," Loki said, and kneeled. His pride would recover as soon as he escaped. He thought he might even find the time to burn down this already tiresome place as he left. "Perhaps you will allow your guest the further imposition of a private audience."

Loki kept his eyes on his feet.

This was a dance he knew well.

What he didn't expect was for Aizen to stand from his throne. Or, rather, disappear from it. One second he was seated on the gargantuan piece of furniture and the next his garments were all but brushing Loki's face.

A thousand years at court kept Loki from flinching, but only just.

"My dear prince, or should I say king? To have deposed your own father in such a way only for him to die before he recognized your abilities." A second's pause and Aizen's fingers carded through Loki's hair. "Feeling lost, alone. Hollow. For so many years. Not even the throne of Asgard could satisfy." _Nor will this one. But I can_ , the gentle fingers seemed to say.

Loki refused to do anything other than breathe evenly as Aizen's power came down on him a second time. Instead of being forceful, it was a warm, comforting deluge.

Every second a lie, the very mockery of affection. Not that base sentiment would ever be a tool capable of winning Loki over.

"Aizen-sama, I'm sure you know I have no intention of repeating history." There was a sour-sweet taste in his mouth. He wanted to retch and be done with it.

"Of course not." The fingers never stopped moving against Loki's scalp. He fought down a shiver when Aizen patted him and moved away. "Rise. I have something to show you and after that, a gift."

Aizen's power still eddied around him as Loki found his feet. He did something strange with his sword, causing it to shatter. The whole time, Aizen kept his eyes not on Loki but on Szayel just behind him. "What do you see?"

The question was clearly meant for him despite the angle of his captor's eyes. "I am afraid I wouldn't know how to properly describe what I have just witnessed." He gave a curt bow. "I do hope you will forgive this sojourner his inexperience."

Aizen's head moved almost imperceptibly to the left. "I see."

There was something going on here just under the surface-a powerful undercurrent between these two beings of immense power. Loki could all but taste it. As he did not yet know the politics of this place, he kept his expression neutral and did not attempt to wade into these particular waters.

Aizen turned his back on them both and resheathed his sword. "Come with me."

Both Loki and Szayel took a few steps forward before Aizen glanced back and it was clear from his gaze he meant Loki alone. When Aizen faced forward again, Szayel shrugged as if to say it was worth a try before he bowed and headed in the opposite direction. Aizen lead him through a door beside the throne. Once inside, he gestured in Loki's direction and Loki fell to his knees in sudden agony. He eyes were on fire and it felt as if his very blood was poison.

Loki retched a silver substance onto the ground. He could feel it leaking from his eyes and ears and every other orifice.

Then the pain abated as quickly as it came and Loki stood, stumbling back and staring at his stained hands.

A curious sensation overcame him again, but it was just the silver goo curling in on itself and dissipating.

Loki's gaze shifted from his hands to Aizen to find him smiling.

"My dear Octava is so fond of his tricks," Aizen said, and Loki was at once insulted although he didn't know on whose behalf.

"I beg your pardon?"

"It is of little consequence to you now." Aizen shed his grandiose manner like a cloak. He sat himself on one of two chairs and proceeded to pour two cups of tea. "Come, sit."

Loki did and he made the bold move of reaching for his cup. It was all calculated and Aizen smiled in appreciation as Loki brought it to his lips and took a sip.

"I am called many things and known by many names, Loki Odinson. You know me but not in this form. We made a deal in the past and as part of that agreement your very memory of it was taken from you. Just as this would be if you didn't need the information I am about to give you in order to complete your task." Aizen raised his hand to stop Loki from speaking.

"In truth, we have met many times, you and I. And we will meet again. What is most important for you to know right now is that I am sending you back."

Loki's palms were sweating as he wracked his brain for answers to the very many questions he now had. He opened his mouth, closed it.

"Back to where?" Loki asked, even though he was already certain of the answer.

"Your life. Thor will need you. Not now, but when it is all over."

"When Thanos...succeeds, you mean." The words and subsequent understanding were thick on Loki's tongue.

"He has been courting my favor for a very long time but I am not inclined to bestow it upon one so misguided. Do you understand?"

"Yes," Loki said, and he was beginning to.

Aizen nodded, all business. "His idea of balance is actually chaos. For me, _personally_. I will not abide it. Nor will I allow him to overwhelm the afterlife and thus destroy the entire universe in the process."

Loki could feel it, the thin thread of recognition. It was in Aizen's power still eddying around him.

"Hela," he said, simply. "Sister." As he watched, the unfamiliar, smiling man disintegrated before him and he was looking into vibrant green eyes. "I thought we killed you."

"Please," she said, "a paltry effort at best."

Loki couldn't help but laugh at that. "I must admit, even I did not see this coming." No mean feat, that.

"None do." A pleased smile curved her full lips upward. Loki would even swear it met her eyes. Either Hela was as talented a liar as he or she was genuinely happy to see him.

"The last time we met-"

"I played my part and I played it well. You should know all about that, brother, having done so yourself on a _number_ of occasions. How many times must I resurrect you, exactly? Troublesome fool." The words were harsh but sounded almost...fond. Loki was at a loss.

"Oh, fine," she drawled, and touched his forehead.

The memories came flooding back. Dying. Living. Dying again. Meeting Hela each time. Hela sending him back. Hela saving him from the void, Hela sending him back after Kurse's blade ran him through. Their deal, made so long ago. Much, much further back than Loki had anticipated. He'd been a child, really, and so young in his magic.

"I let you out…"

"And in return I struck your name from the book of Hel. Mr. Undying Fidelity. That was quite the speech by the way. For a second I wondered if you'd managed to fool me." Hela scoffed and took a sip of her tea.

"What is with this guise, then?" Loki asked, instead of dwelling on his past bravado. What terrible timing he'd had.

"Ah, this? Another would-be god," Hela laughed along with Loki. "I struck him down long ago. Interesting powers though. And his realm? The absolute worst. I intend to do something with it once Thanos is out of the way. You'll bring him to me, won't you brother? I've had about enough of his little games. He caught sight of me one time and hasn't been able to help himself since."

Hela scoffed again. "Men."

Loki thought of Thor and his single minded pursuit of women when they were younger and couldn't find it in himself to disagree. Not that Thor had ever had to really try. The thought brought welling up the old bitterness again but Loki shoved it aside. He's been done feeling the perpetual victim for some time. Loki considers himself a _victor_ and- "Of course. You know I always have a plan even when I don't know what that might be just yet."

Hela clapped him on his shoulder. "I can always count on you. But do _try_ to use your magic this time, dear. The knives are getting a bit _cliche_. You're better than that."

Loki could've told her of the plan he'd concocted at the time. He could have told her that he would've escaped Aizen, that all these things were merely stepping stones to him, that nothing would ever keep him down. Instead, Loki smiled and it was full of the newfound knowledge of his own immortality.

"So I am."


End file.
